Fierce rivals ready to make earth move

New Zealand versus Australia is the ultimate in intensity, and Saturdays semi-final could be the toughest ever. By Bob Dwyer

THE semi-final between Australia and New Zealand has all the makings of a trans-Tasman war. The rivalry between these two antipodean neighbours is as razor sharp as it gets, and the intensity of a clash to determine a place in the final will be increased a hundredfold.

In fact, we nearly had a trans-Tasman war a year ago after the removal of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union as joint hosts of this World Cup. Public sentiment in New Zealand was close to boiling over, and there was a deep sense of resentment of Australia and of the Rugby World Cup. However, even that died down when the most one-eyed Kiwis (and there are quite a few) concluded that the ineptness of their own administrators had led to their exclusion.

Nobody should be in any doubt, despite that, about the depth of New Zealand’s desire to wrench this World Cup